Chandigarh, May 22
With the high-end Prideasia housing project in the prime Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park (RGCTP) stuck in a tug-of-war between real estate giant Parsvnath Developers and the Chandigarh Administration, Parsvnath top brass today called on UT administrator SF Rodrigues in a bid to find "amicable" solution to the stand-off.

Pardeep Jain and PK Jain, Parsvnath chairman and adviser, respectively, reiterated their stand on the project, including termination of the Rs 821-crore contract between the realtor and the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB).Besides, the Parsvnath officials are also understood to have reiterated their demand for the revision of the terms and conditions of the contract and the change of the contract to the pro-rata basis.

Sources told The Tribune that the Parsvnath officials stuck to their oft-repeated stand that the UT administration was to blame for the virtual derailment of the ambitious project, which had caused huge loss to the company. Since the UT administration had delayed the possession of "encumbrance-free" land and dilly-dallied on the approval of the building plans, the administration was to be blamed for work coming to a virtual standstill at the project site, the UT officials were told.

The presence of UT senior standing counsel Anupam Gupta at the meeting gives credence to the reports that the UT was exploring legal options also for "amicable" settlement with the real estate major.

However, the settlement may not be easy for the two stakeholders, as the entire record of the project was with the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), which is probing the alleged irregularities in the mega projects, including Prideasia.The UT will have to wait for the completion of the CVC probe for any final say on the project, top officials asserted.

A view in administration is that Parsvnath wanted to "wriggle out" out of the project following the ongoing recession and growing demands of the refund of their deposited amounts from the investors. However, a final decision on the project would be taken only when the CVC gave its verdict on the project, the sources claimed.

The UT administration seems to be in a bind on the fate of the project. A major chunk of the amount of about Rs 1,600 crore, which was to accrue to the administration from total revenue of the sale of the residential property at the project, was to be used for the construction of over 25,000 dwelling units for rehabilitation of the slum-dwellers.

Spread over 123 acres, the project is an integral part of the RGCTP and a joint venture between the company and the CHB. Parsvnath bagged the project for Rs 821 crore and had already paid an amount of Rs 517 crore for the project whose total cost is pegged at around Rs 4,100 crore.

Chandigarh, May 22
Two unidentified youngsters robbed Om Parkash, a 75-year-old retired PCS officer, of Rs 4,900 at gunpoint at his residence in Sector 16 here this morning. According to SHO of the Sector 17 police station, inspector Ramesh Chander, the incident took place around 10:30 am.

The victim was alone at home at that time. Two unidentified clean-shaven middle-aged men rang the doorbell. When Om Parkash opened the door, the miscreants told him that they had come to discuss a case.

The police said Om Parkash told the youths that his son advocate Nirmal Chaudhary was not at home and they should come later. At this, they asked for water and when he returned, one of the men pulled out a pistol. They asked him to give them whatever cash he had.

Om Parkash searched the room and collected Rs 4,900 from here and there and handed over the cash and his mobile phone to the robbers. After taking the money, the miscreants took a round of the house and left.

A shocked Om Parkash, meanwhile, took time to reconcile to the incident and did not dare to follow the youths to note down the number of their vehicle. After sometime, he informed his son about the incident, who reported the matter to the police.

The police said the elderly man told them that the youths had come to his house yesterday also inquiring about some case. He gave the description of the youths to the police.

Mohali, May 22
The Nangal-New Delhi Jan Shatabdi was delayed by around three hours after the theft of 63-metre overhead electricity wire between Kharar and Morinda railway stations near here this morning. After the theft, the leftover wire was found hanging precariously over the track.

“The train had to be halted to avoid any major tragedy,” said a railway official. This was the fourth attempt of stealing overhead electricity wires by unscrupulous elements since February.

Acting swiftly, the railway police recovered the stolen cable worth Rs 55,000. The stolen cable had been hidden in the nearby fields, said SI Sukhdev Raj of the railway police force. One person, Kala alias Motu, has been arrested in this connection.

RK Behl, section engineer, TRD Construction, said the electrification work of the Chandigarh-Morinda section of the railway line was in progress. Efforts are always made to check such incidents, he said.

Chandigarh, May 22
It’s been four days since Bhupinder Singh, the main accused in the alleged rape of the teenaged Nari Niketan inmate, was arrested but the police has yet not initiated any action against Kamla, a sweepress, who has been repeatedly named by the victim as the abettor to the crime.

While UT SSP SS Srivastava refused to divulge any details about the case, including the fact whether the victim had named Kamla before the investigation officer, on the plea that “investigations were underway”, senior officials privy to the case confirm that the girl had talked about sweepress’ involvement before everyone who had talked to her. And incidentally those who have talked to her besides the IO also include Home Secretary Ram Niwas.

It may be mentioned here that the girl, while talking to this correspondent on Tuesday, had categorically stated that Kamla used to take her to Bhupinder Singh, who had allegedly raped her in the bathroom. During her conversation with The Tribune, she got infuriated when she saw Kamla and had said, “Yehi woh aunty hai jo mujhe le jati thi. Yeh pagal hai”.

She had alleged that Kamla used to call her out of the dormitory usually late in the evening after other inmates had slept off and take her to the toilet where Bhupinder was waiting.

What seems surprising is that while Srivastava raised doubts over the “clarity” in the girl’s claims while defending the police inaction against Kamla, sources said (even this correspondent had written) that though her voice is unlike normal people and takes little effort to comprehend, it wasn’t ‘unclear’ as was being made out by the police.

Sources also revealed that the issue of Kamla’s arrest was raised during a high-level meeting of UT officials, which was attended by Ram Niwas, Director, Social Welfare, Amandeep Kaur, Director Principal GMCH 32, Dr Raj Bahadur, and others, recently, and some officials strongly felt that the police should proceed against her.

However, the decision was postponed after one of the officials “broke down”, claiming that any more arrest could put the department in more bad light and cause personal embarrassment to the “official”. When contacted, UT Senior Standing Counsel, Anupam Gupta, said, “In my personal opinion, the facts revealed so far do call for the arrest and interrogation of Kamla.”

A section of UT officials are also surprised at the role of the UT police, which obtained only a one-day police remand for the accused. “This is nothing but trivialising the case,” said a senior officer, adding that it seemed that the UT administration was trying to “hide more than reveal” about the dubious working of the Nari Niketan.

Chandigarh, May 22
The incessant chants of “Singh is King” drowned the thunderous din of applause as advocate Sukhjinder Singh Behl was elected to the post of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association president late this evening.

Behl, with 880 votes, defeated his nearest rival and three-time president GC Dhuriwala by a margin of 308 votes. In all, Dhuriwala polled 572 votes. As many as six candidates were in the fray for the post.

The vice-president’s post was bagged by Satwant Singh Rangi with 1013 votes. He defeated nearest rival N.K. Banga, who was polled 829 votes. While the secretary’s post went to Gaurav Chopra, Ritam Aggarwal emerged victorious on the joint secretary’s post. Amit Rana was declared treasurer.

The enthusiasm among the voters could be witnessed right from the start. They came in hordes to exercise their franchise since the process started at about 10 pm . The turnout remained fairly high, with 2169 advocates out of 2525 voters braving the heat to ensure victory for their favourite candidate.

To encourage the voters to savour the taste of polls, the Bar Association left no stone unturned. Ice-creams greeted the voters as they came out after casting the ballot paper.

Behl said he would acknowledge the trust reposed by the Bar in his abilities by working for their welfare.

Talking to The Tribune soon after the declaration of results, Behl said expeditious completion of the ongoing development projects and initiation of new welfare schemes would be on the top of his agenda.

Sheela Kumari 1198, Sec 44-B, Chd

Lt Col SK Sharma 5484/2, Modern Complex, Manimajra

Saroj Bala Sharma ,,

Seema 2032/1, Sec 47-C

Santosh Monga ,,

Dalbir Singh Kalra 3305, 35-D

Bhupinder Kaur ,,

Amrit Pal Kaur 2158 A, Sec 66

Mohinder Kaur ,,

Gajja Singh ,,

Virender Sharma 5705-B Sec 38-West

Shashi Sharma ,,

Munna Khanna 1036, Sec 21-B

Suresh Chandra 5547/3, Modern

Datta Housing Complex, Manimajra

Kanti Datta ,,

Dinesh Datta ,,

Sangita Kumari 3051/1, Sec 28-D

Prateek Kishore ,,

Shelly Mathur 5839, Modern 
Housing Complex (Duplex), Manimajra

Dr Surinder Dhawan 1118, Sec 15-B

Surinder Dhawan ,,

Swati Dhawan ,,

Kanika Dhawan ,,

Surinder Singh Somal 4593, Sec 70, SAS Nagar

Balwinder Kaur ,,

Sukhinder Singh Somal ,,

Amrit Somal ,,

Yash Abbi 1188, Sec 21-B

Rakesh Abbi ,,

Renu Abbi ,,

Ravi Abbi ,,

Anita Abbi ,,

Varun Abbi ,,

Priya Abbi ,,

Yogita Abbi ,,

Surinder Mohan Passi 119, 21-A

Ashwani Bansal 1308, Sec 19-B

Kavita Bansal ,,

Neha Bansal ,,

Rupali Sharma 2199, Sec 19-C

Lt Col Harinder 2178, 35-C

Singh

Paramjeet Kaur ,,

Supriti Singh ,,

Yogeh Kaushal 1572, Sec 7/C

Gurcharan Singh 4894,Maloya Colony

Rameshver Dass 217, Shivalik

Sharma Enclave, Manimajra

Kavita Sharma "

Amarjit Singh 70/2, Sec 45-A

Talwar

Inder Mohini ,,

Pushpinder Singh ,,

Charandeep Singh 70/2, Sec 45-A

Harmeet Singh ,,

Kanwaljeet Kaur ,,

Balbir Singh 1225, Ground Floor, Sec 44-B

Harjinder Singh 353, Sec 37-A

Monga

Manjit Kaur Monga ,,

Harjit Kaur Monga ,,

Suman 677, Sec 16D

Jaswant Singh Mann 570 Sec 36-B

Kushal Pal Singh Mann ,,

Sumeep Singh Mann ,,

Hasandeep Singh Mann ,,

Guneet Jawanda Mann ,,

Dinesh Kumar 2111, Sector 35-C

Rana Singh ,,

Deepankar Bhattacharjee 193, Vill Raipur Khurd, Air port Chowk, 
Beha lana

Kalpana Bhattacharjee ,,

Debdulal Bhattacharjee ,,

Neelam Barthwal 231, Indian Express Society, Sector 48-A

Arvind Bhatia 3371, Sector 35-D

Kanwaljit Singh 1104, Sector 39-B

Samir Bedi 3209, 32-D

Sheela Manderna 74, Power House Colony, Ind Area, Phase-1

Paras Sethi 145, Sector 21-A

Shelly Rana 3104-A, Sector 24-D

Rohit Rana ,,

Kulbir Singh Brar 1517, Sector 36-D

Rahul Walia 928, Sector
12-A, Pkl

Ram Pal 326, Sector 32-A

Krishna ,,

Rvind ,,

Gaurav ,,

Parvinder Singh 1033, Sector 45-B

Balbir Singh ,,

Kamal Kant Trikha 2085, Sector 15-C

Anita Bhalla 2364, Sector 19-C

Reena Dhiman 527, Sector-2, Pkl

Yogesh Dhiman ,,

Varun Kumar 2872, Sector-15, Pkl

Surinder Soni B-94, Kendriya Vihar, Sector-14, Pkl

Sunita Soni ,,

Bhawanishankar 2611/2, Sector 44-C

Mahapatra

Mira Mahapatra ,,

Harneet Kaur 2234, Sector 15-C

Yash Pal 3221, Sec 40-D

Bimla Devi ,,

Daisy Verma 283, Sec 10-A

Puneet Verma ,,

Ajay Agnihotri 294, Sec 21-A

(To be continued)

Chandigarh, May 22
Not giving two hoots to law, traders have alleged that illegal trade practice is rampant in Sector 26 Grain Market. Courtesy: The governing council of the market committee under whose influence some fake firms have allegedly been doing business in the market and causing huge loss to the state exchequer.

There are over 10 such “non-existing firms” that are dealing in fruits and vegetables from the grain market platforms, which do not possess the valid trading licence and never ever bothered to pay the 2 per cent market fee to the administration.

Insiders allege that illegal trade is being done in the name of Rajinder Chauhan Anil Kalta and Co, reportedly attached to a fake firm in the name of GS-27. Other fake firms were JK-27, VKM-27, RK-27 and PSC-30.

Prerna Puri, SDM (South), said, “ It is a grave issue. I will inquire into it. No person other than licence holder can be allowed to run the business from the Sector 26 market”, she said.

The Tribune is in possession of account statements of RK-27, showing that trade is being done from home (3455, Sector 27D) by Rajinder Singh Chauhan (A/c no 3249002100030899). Certain discrepancies were found in the bank statements of PSC-30 firm, being operated by Prem Singh Chakrola 
(A/c no 3249002100029282, PNB-26).

Some traders complained that the market committee was harassing them by not renewing their trade licences. They said it was a mandatory for the licence holders post-1984 to submit an affidavit of having no claim for the auction platform, but market committee had made gross discrimination here too.

Two firms, Gurjit Singh and Sons and Chandigarh Fruit Company, alleged to have never submitted any such affidavits and have encroached upon the auction platforms illegally.

Defying all allegations, Chairman, market committee, Davinder S Babla, said, “Recently about 20 to 30 licences have been cancelled because of certain irregularities. The discrepancies pointed out were because of dispute between the owner and the tenant”, he said.

JS Mawi, secretary, market committee, admitted that some commission agents were not on their list.

About the renewal of licences, Babla said no sooner did any claimant establish the physical possession of the site in the market, his licence would be renewed.

But the genuine traders, established in the market for over 35 years, are being victimised.

Sood Brothers have been running from pillar to post to get their licence renewed and fighting for their right to do business from the authorised platform allotted to them since 1969.

“Despite having stay orders from the High Court against the dispossession of the platform from where we carry our business, our platform has been handed over to another firm by the committee”, said Ashok Sood, partner of Sood Brothers.

Jit Singh Lamba and Sons, having their ancestral business of fruits and vegetables since 1973, is on the verge of closure today. 

Chandigarh, May 22
Analysing the mandate of the Lok Sabha elections, three eminent experts today said people had negated the politics of negativism, and had given a message to the world that India is a country of stability amidst chaotic surroundings.

Speaking at a seminar on “Mandate 2009” organised by the Chandigarh chapter of the Indian Media Centre, Uttam Sengupta, Associate Editor of The Tribune, said when people expected that the MP should address town-level problems, it meant local governance was poor.

He rued lack of focus among political parties and said absence of shadow cabinet meant that parties did not invest in specialisation among their MPs and MLAs.

Mentioning about lack of a coherent economic policy in BJP as a reason of its dismal performance in the elections, Sengupta said voters were not going to support any party for sentimental reasons.

Saying that the past five years of the UPA government were years of drift, he stressed the need for systemic reforms in the political system, electoral system and bureaucracy. “It’s a shame that a regional party with 18-20 seats can blackmail the Union government,” he added.

Former Punjab Chief Secretary Rajan Kashyap said the voters had given a mandate to the Congress to deliver on its promise of good governance and provide a clean administration.

Chander Mohan, Editor-in-Chief of Vir Pratap, Jalandhar, said the younger generation had not endorsed BJP prime ministerial candidate LK Advani. The election result, according to him, reflected the aspiration of people.

They voted for Dr Manmohan Singh and for the performance of regional leaders from Sheila Dixit to Nitish Kumar to Narendra Modi to Bhupinder Hooda to Naveeen Patnaik - who delivered good governance, irrespective of their party affiliations. The defeat of the BJP showed that sentimental issues had limited appeal.

PC Dogra, chairman of the Chandigarh chapter of IMC, recalled the uncertainties that preceded the results of the elections and said the electors had given a mandate for a stable and cohesive government.

Chairman-elect of the Chandigarh chapter Prof K N Pathak said participation of the literate population especially the younger generation should ensure that government would function in a transparent fashion.

Chandigarh, May 22
Even as the Chandigarh Police managed to take the German tourist rape case to its logical end in four months, the track record of the police indicates that a majority of rape cases ended in acquittals due to one reason or the other.

The conviction rate of the cases decided in the past three years stands around 41 per cent.

A perusal of the statistics of rape cases that underwent trial in city’s district courts since 2005 till December last year shows that out of the 55 rape cases heard in the local courts, the accused in 32 cases were acquitted. In other words, the conviction rate of the rape cases stands around 41 per cent.

A senior police official said taking rape cases to their logical end is a long and tedious task, as such cases largely depends on human evidence. In a substantial number of cases, either the victims or the witnesses turn hostile, resulting in such a high rate of acquittal in rape cases.

“The cases like the German tourist rape cases are rare examples. Apart from the special efforts made by the police and the local authorities, the speedy trial became possible, as the victim stuck to her statement till the case was decided,” the official added.

Take the infamous case of former SAD MLA Gaganjit Singh Barnala, who was acquitted after three years in February this year, after the victim retracted from her statement. The case came to light when the victim was admitted to the hospital with bleeding from her private parts.

The victim in the end stated that she got injured after falling from bicycle. The number of such cases is higher than those ended in convictions for such apparent reasons, said the official.

About the present case sources said the even as the police had arrested Bhupinder Singh, one of the watchmen of the Nari Niketan, on the charges of raping a 16-year-old mentally challenged inmate, the investigating officials are still considering its as a “blind rape case”.

Meanwhile, DSP (East) PK Dhavan said the investigating officials were recording the statements of the staff members of Nari Niketan in Sector 26 and of Aashreya in Sector 47. The officials also quizzed the employees regarding the role of the suspects named in the case so far.

“Going by the mental condition of the victim, who could not relate the entire incident on her own, anything could come out in the case at later stage. At this stage we are eagerly waiting for the DNA report, which would clear several doubts,” said one of the investigating officials.

“The police is waiting for the court’s permission for the medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) of the victim, as the DNA samples of the foetus would be taken after the MTP or after the delivery,” said Udhaypal, the investigating officer.

Chandigarh, May 22
A two-day national workshop was organised by the School of Public Health PGIMER, Chandigarh, in collaboration with the Government of India and WHO at Hotel Park View here today. The aim of the workshop was to evolve strategies for reviewing maternal deaths in the country, in hospitals as well as the community settings. 

About 43 experts from all across the country, including Dr Ardi Kaptiningsih, regional adviser SEARO (WHO), Dr Yonas Tegegn, WHO, Dr Jorge Caravota, UNICEF, Dr Dinesh Aggarwal, UNFPA, Dr Manisha Malhotra Dr Himanshu Bhushan, MoFHW-GOI, and other senior officials from White Ribbon Alliance, NIHFW, along with representatives from various medical colleges, and programme officers from states participated.

The main recommendations were to initiate the facility based maternal death reviews at the district-level hospitals and medical institutes and to integrate the community-based maternal death reviews with the facility-based maternal death reviews.

The group will now formulate the tools and methods for the implementation of the facility and community-based maternal death reviews.

Panchkula, May 22
A team of drug controller department consisting of officials from Panchkula, Ambala, Karnal and Jagadhari detected a factory allegedly involved in manufacturing spurious drugs here today.

The team, led by assistant drug controller GL Singhal, finding the medicines being manufactured at a factory without having any licence in the Industrial Area, Phase II, sealed the unit.

According to Singhal, the department had seized some spurious medicines at Ambala following which investigations to know the origin of those medinces led them to this pharma unit.

The team reached at the factory around 5 pm to find that the medicines were being manufactured and packed in the unit. However, no board in the name of any company was put on the factory. On checking the rent deed of the factory it was revealed that it was being used to manufacture the spurious medicines for the last more than one year, he said.

The factory manager, Sandeep Kumar, a resident of Rajpura, did not reach the factory till 8.30 pm following which the officials returned after sealing the unit, added Singhal.

Chandigarh, May 22
High drama prevailed at the Panjab University today with Professor Rupinder Tiwari of biotechnology department and Vice-Chancellor Prof RC Sobti, locking horns.

Raising objections at the way Sobti was performing his duties, Rupinder alleged that Sobti had not taken the classes of BSc III year where he was supposed to teach molecular human genetics but instead made these students sit for an entire session with the students of UIET in animal cell culture class, also being taught by him.

It may be noted that Rupinder has asked the VC to clarify how many lectures of the molecular human genetics he had taken? He further demanded a clarification for not conducting practical till the examination date was declared and for evaluating students on the basis of synopsis rather than practical and viva.

Infuriated at this, the VC not only produced students who admitted to having attended classes but according to some sources produced practical files as well.

“Vice-Chancellor is not supposed to teach but still I do. All allegations are baseless, the students have clarified that everything was done as per syllabus,” said, the VC.

However, according to Prof Rupinder, “Students will not be able to oppose the VC and that too in front of him.” He is believed to have sought answers under the
RTI Act.

Chandigarh, May 22
Rotary Club of Chandigarh Midtown gifted a computer lab to the students of Sikhya School, Sector 46, here today. Dr AR Kidwai, Governor of Haryana, inaugurated the lab. Dr Kidwai commended the Rotarians for providing technological access to nearly 800 children studying at the school.

Immediate past district governor of Rotary District 3080, Rtn Shaju Peter, informed that the project has been funded by the Rotarians of the club and district 3080 in India, and has been supported by the Rotarians in UK, especially the children of Erith School, who also raised USD 1,500 and contributed for this project in the memory of their school principal, who was also a Rotarian.

Sonia Channi, principal of Sikhya School, expressed her gratitude to the Rotarians for supporting the mission to provide high quality education to the underprivileged children free of cost.

Chandigarh, May 22
Sohanjana eco-club of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 46, today organised an inter-school quiz competition on environment on the occasion of International Biological Diversity Day on the school campus in collaboration with department of environment, Chandigarh.

Around 86 students from 43 schools participated in the competition. There was a painting competition in which 52 school students participated. School principal Sudesh Raghav said such competitions were useful to spread awareness of environment education.

Harjasleen Malvai of Carmal Convent School, Sector 9, got first prize, Rajit Mehan of Ajit Karam Singh International Public School, Sector 41, got second and Saurabh Sharma of St Kabir Public School, Sector 26, got third prize.

However, in the painting competition, Nisha of Class IX won first prize, Deepika of Class X stood second and Priya Kaushik of Class VIII got third prize. — TNS

Chandigarh, May 22
As many as eighty prodigious dancers between 5 to 15 years participated in a classical and folk dances bonanza titled “Nritya Ranjani” held at Kalagram open air stage here today.

The programme, organised by NZCC and Nrityashree Natyalya, Panchkula, commenced with a Bharatnatyam invocatory item “Natraj Vandna”, performed by Akakanksha, Nikita and Simran.

It was followed by a welcome dance in Kathak form by Natyalya students. The audience comprising mostly parents of participants relished a fusion of Bhartnatyam and Kathak dance genres in “Tararana” executed by Arushi Kalra, Nishtha Bansal and Divya.

Besides a duet dance by Rithima and Tanvi as also folk dances of the region were also presented by young disciples of Bhartnatyam exponent Mukta Nagesh.